Making Pasta Without Strain (but You Need a Strainer)

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Published: March 5, 2003

WITH budgets tightening everywhere, it just may be the moment for la cucina povera, as frugal Italian country cooking is called. This rustic food has generations of tradition behind it, and despite its humble materials it is known for great flavor. A kind of pasta called frascatelli, handmade with semolina and water, is a perfect example.

Salvatore and Tina Tassa, who own Colline Ciociare, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Acuto, near Rome, prepared the pasta in New York recently at a dinner given by Armando Manni, a Tuscan olive oil producer. Though the dish occasionally is on the menu at Alfredo of Rome in Rockefeller Center, food writers at the dinner were surprised to see a fresh pasta made with no eggs and no special equipment or tricky techniques.

The chefs spread the semolina -- coarsely ground durum-wheat flour -- on a work surface and sprinkled it with water, flicking droplets from their fingertips. Mrs. Tassa said she sometimes used a whisklike brush instead of her hand, which is why the pasta is called frascatelli: frasca means branch in Italian.

''I suppose in the old days they would use a branch from a bush,'' she said.

Once the semolina was evenly dotted with water, the chefs gathered it up in a mound, transferred everything to a strainer and sifted the contents back onto the work surface. The tiny clumps of dough that formed from the moistened semolina and remained in the strainer were the pasta. The chefs repeated the process until nearly all the semolina was used.

In about 20 minutes, the frascatelli was ready to cook. Though the chefs boiled it in salted water immediately, they said it was even better spread out and left to dry for a few hours or overnight. ''Just be sure to dust it with a little plain semolina and cover it with a cloth,'' Mr. Tassa said.

They cooked the frascatelli for a minute or so, fished it out of the pot and dressed it by tossing it in a sauté pan with olive oil, herbs and cheese. As he cooked it, Mr. Tassa kept adding some of the pasta cooking water.

''You have to keep feeding it,'' he said, ''especially if you reheat it.''

The irregular little nuggets of pasta had the satisfying succulence of gnocchi, and the way the seasonings were added, with enough of the pasta water to keep the frascatelli moist, made the dish almost like a risotto.

''You can do anything with it,'' Mrs. Tassa said. ''We like to use marjoram and mint, but garlic and parsley are also good. You can add sautéed mushrooms, a little sausage, a bit of chili, tomatoes and basil in summer or diced sautéed zucchini. And you can make it with vegetable broth instead of water.''

Then she confessed that she also liked it with diced fresh black truffles folded in. ''We've got a restaurant, so sometimes we have to do things like that,'' she said.

FRASCATELLI WITH PARSLEY, GARLIC AND PECORINO

Adapted from Salvatore and Tina Tassa

Time: 50 minutes

4 cups semolina; more for optional dusting

Salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh red chili

2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano

Dried red pepper flakes, optional.

1. On a work surface, spread semolina in a layer 1/2 inch thick. Have a bowl containing a quart of cold water ready. Line a large baking sheet with sides with parchment or waxed paper.

2. Dip the fingers of one hand into cold water, and sprinkle semolina by flicking water off your hand. Repeat until semolina is well-speckled with droplets but not saturated. Use a dough scraper or spatula to gather semolina lightly into a mound. You will see tiny clumps of dough form. Place all the semolina in a large strainer, and sift it back over work surface. Spread tiny clumps that are left in strainer on baking sheet.

3. Repeat Step 2 three or four times, until almost all the semolina is in clumps on baking sheet. The last quarter cup or so will be too damp to continue and should be discarded. If not cooking pasta immediately, sprinkle it lightly with additional semolina, and cover it loosely with a clean cloth. It can be left up to 24 hours.

4. Bring 4 quarts of well-salted water to a boil. Dump pasta clumps in and cook about a minute, until water just about returns to boil.

5. Place olive oil in a 4-quart sauté pan or shallow saucepan. While pasta cooks, warm olive oil over medium heat and add garlic and fresh chili so they start to sizzle.

6. Use a skimmer to drain pasta from boiling water and transfer it to the pan with oil. Some moisture should be left clinging to pasta. Alternatively, reserve about 3 cups of pasta water, then drain pasta in a colander.

Photos: FOR URBAN PEASANTS -- Salvatore Tassa, a chef from Italy, makes frascatelli: he flicks water into semolina, above, tossing it until it forms small clumps. The mixture is then sifted in a strainer. The pasta is cooked in water, drained and then mixed with parsley and cheese. (Photographs by Barbara Alper for The New York Times)